A Chill in the Air
by thelinksthatconnectus
Summary: While traveling the world, Jack meets a kindred spirit. This takes place before Frozen and Rise of the Guardians. Jack/Kristoff


"Hey," Kristoff said, rubbing his eyes. The person in front of him was certainly real (and surprisingly not dead considering the thin, short clothing that he was wearing). "What are you doing out here? Are you lost?"

The snow obscured most of him. Were it not for the color of the top he was wearing, an expensive looking dark blue (though the fabric looked very old), Kristoff probably would not have been able to see him at all. He seemed to be carrying something, a stick from what Kristoff could see. It was twisted though, much different from what he saw people walk with when he went into kingdoms to sell ice.

"Do you need help?" He walked forward, Sven right behind him.

Was something wrong? Was this guy in danger?

The guy stood by a tree. The closer that Kristoff got, the more that he could see of him. His hair was as white as the very snow around them. His eyes turned from the tree, to Kristoff.

"Are you in danger?" Kristoff repeated.

"No." The guy blinked, as if he thought he was the one seeing something strange.

"Aren't you cold?" It seemed like a silly question to say out loud, but it had to be asked.

He shook his head. Then, wordlessly, he put his hand on the tree. Around the bark, tiny bits of frost formed. It was elegant, and had he not seen the bare trees around him earlier then it would have seemed like it was always there. The ice continued to grow, only stopping when the strange man finally removed his hand from the tree altogether.

* * *

"Tell me," he said, blue eyes wide. His gloved hand was leaned up against the tree, his fingers gently running along the ice. In a forest this cold, with this much snow, it would seem normal. Then again, some of it was to be expected.

That was Jack's ice that he was touching.

For a moment, Jack looked away from him. All his life, since the moment that he left the moon, he had hoped that someone would see him. When the first village hadn't worked, he had traveled on, hoping to eventually find someone who could see him. The whole world had passed him by. He had gone to all corners of the earth, from the coldest parts to the edge of a volcano, and until then no one had even seen him. Really, he was far from prepare.

Jack leaned against his staff. "Well, you see..." He waved his hands in the air, a few snowflakes forming. "It's just what I do."

"I know!" He reached a hand out.

Jack's heart leaped in his chest. It had never occured to him before that no one had ever touched him, at least those who were able to. He had been passed through more times than he could count. But anyone who could see him, the rare few, never had.

"May I?" he asked.

Jack nodded.

His touch was light, surprising Jack slightly. With his rough, hard build, he had expected something Rough, like what he was sure North's hand probably felt like.

"How do you know about me?" The question hung in the air for a moment.

"The trolls," he said. "They told me that someone helped to bring the snow and the ice. They said you were Jack Frost."

Jack nodded. He wanted to throw his hands into the air, dance around, even make a small blizzard. Someone believed in him, could see him!

Instead, he only asked a simple question. "And who are you?"

"Kristoff," he responded. He turned around, then pointed to a bush. "Hey, Sven, come here!"

The bushes rustled, snow falling off of the top. A reindeer stood up, a number of bits of ice stuck in its antlers.

"Sven, he's real! Jack Frost is real!"

Jack grips his staff tighter. It certainly wasn't what he imagined, but he never had truly known what to expect.

* * *

Kristoff was usually one to work alone, save Sven. Reindeer, at least in his opinion, were better than people. He had met a lot of people over the years while selling ice, and he hardly liked any of them. Most of them just wanted to cheat him or (try and fail to) steal some of his ice. But Jack couldn't be considered a person, right? At least not in the traditional sense. Jack Frost was snow, ice, and fun.

It seemed strange to call him that, but it was true. He was a good listener, happy to let Kristoff tell him all about snow and ice. Those might as well have been his life. He listened with open ears, following along Kristoff as he walked.

"The thing about ice," he said, gesturing to his stack of ice, "is that some people think cutting it is easy. And yes, as hard as my job can be sometimes, there's something satisfying about finishing it up. Ice is beautiful, but it can be dangerous if you aren't careful. When I finish selling it, I realize that I've managed to harness the ice, if only for a little while. Being you, I'll be honest, sounds amazing."

Jack looked away from him, then scratched under his ear. "Well," he said. He paused.

"Is something wrong?"

"No-" He faltered. "Well, you have to realize something. You cutting up the ice is impressive, truly amazing. I admire your ability to do so. The thing is, I can't do that."

Kristoff stopped. Both he and Sven looked to Jack. Already, Kristoff was imagining some of the questions running through his reindeer's head.

"What?" he asked. He gestured to the snowy land around them. "You're Jack Frost, king of the ice and snow."

"That's a really dramatic way of saying it," Jack said. "I never knew that I was royalty." He looked down to his staff. "I don't really have many kingly things to offer."

Kristoff shook his head. "Okay, that sounded weird. But the thing is, you are Jack Frost. Why would you not be able to cut up ice? Do you know what I would do to be in your place?"

Jack stiffened, his blue eyes going cold. "Look, I can not cut up ice. I can make ice, but cut it up? That takes tools and time. If I want something cut up, I can simply make it cut up. What you do is amazing too."

Kristoff snorted. "How can you actually mean that?"

"I just do." He looked away.

The wind picked up, and cold air blew in Kristoff's face.

Kristoff bit his lip. "Look, I'm sorry." He looked back to Sven. "If you want to, you're welcome to walk to town with us. I need to sell this ice and get us some more carrots."

"Alright," Jack said. He relaxed, a smile again forming on his face.

* * *

"People never quite realize just how much they need ice until they get it," Kristoff said. "It's amazing how seasons work, at least to me. Considering the fact that I live in the mountains, I only feel the summer heat when I go to sell my ice. "Do you understand?"

"Of course," Jack said.

"Good," Kristoff responded.

"Hey," Jack said, looking back towards the kingdom. He had been considering this idea for a while, though he had never actually tried it out. "Have you ever heard of a sudden snow day?"

Kristoff shook his head. "Why?"

"Well," Jack said, gesturing back towards the kingdom, "I guess you'll just have to look and see what I mean." He jumped forward. "Believe me, you'll like it."


End file.
